Thread: I have a V8...but I think I want a TDi...am I crazy???

Originally Posted by Young Angus

I actually have thought about the option of having a V8 without any gas on it at all as probably being a really good reliable vehicle compared to all the gas modded ones...just with slightly higher running costs. But having only petrol you could trick it up to run at it's best on petrol and range would probably be really good if it was all in good shape.

A good gas conversion has never given me any issues, I had/have 4 and never an issue from gas.
Trick is to get it done right in the 1st place.

No gas on my V8 and not likely to be. It's ultra reliable. The only thing I'd swap the Rover V8 for is ... a bigger Rover V8. When petrol's high I take the Mini...

1310 Cooper S (1970)
1360 Mini Van (1965)
4.6 Rover SD1 (1978)
4.6 Disco (1995)

I used to run a 3.9 Disco V8 on gas, was a total constant pain with the engine - got sick of it, now its just a spare for body bits and running gear. Over the last year and a half I have put over 60k on a 96 300TDI auto and would never go back. I really like the diesel - sure, not as strong for passing, but what's the rush? I get over 800km out of a tank of fuel on average, even with a bit of towing. Its a very simple engine, just needs regular oil and filters. No going back for me.

Originally Posted by jazzaD1

i am considering swapping my unreliable v8 for a diesel in the future also, that or a 350 chev, but im leaning more towards the simplicity of a diesel engine

The only thing, in my view, about the D1 V8's that make then unreliable is spark. If you ditch the Lucas dizzy and replace it with a scorcher dizzy from performance ignitions in Victoria (Holden, Ford homologation dizzy with Australian Bosch HEI Amp module) like I did ALL your start, idle, acceleration missing issues are gone and performance is up, and fuel use down. Its that simple from my perspective. The lucas stuff is painful, and the dizzy gets wear over time which puts it out of spec easily. The lucas cap lasts about 1/4 the time of the GM/Ford stuff too which is insane.

The D1 V8 is a very hardy and trusty workhorse when the spark is sorted. I love my 95 with 285,000k on it and it still pulls hard. Range wise, sure the Tdi craps on it. As for towing my mate had a 96 D1 tdi - very well looked after. I had been out towing with him before and after his full rebuild and brand new injectors, pump and turbo etc and off the line the V8 pulled away from him like he was standing still - both of us with 2 tonn boats on the rear. Once it was up to speed it towed very well of course, but around town with a load on the back, in peak hour, it was painful.

Cheers

PS. As for LPG I run it on both my D1 and D2 V8's and its sweet.

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

Yes.
Yes you are crazy.

Ditto

Originally Posted by ozscott

The only thing, in my view, about the D1 V8's that make then unreliable is spark. If you ditch the Lucas dizzy and replace it with a scorcher dizzy from performance ignitions in Victoria (Holden, Ford homologation dizzy with Australian Bosch HEI Amp module) like I did ALL your start, idle, acceleration missing issues are gone and performance is up, and fuel use down. Its that simple from my perspective. The lucas stuff is painful, and the dizzy gets wear over time which puts it out of spec easily. The lucas cap lasts about 1/4 the time of the GM/Ford stuff too which is insane.

I have done away with the distributor, going for a wasted spark coil pack setup instead, it now runs with a hose pouring directly on the coil packs and doesnt skip a beat

my issue is with overheating and leaking oil, that and camshaft wear, maybe my engine is just worn out

Originally Posted by jazzaD1

I have done away with the distributor, going for a wasted spark coil pack setup instead, it now runs with a hose pouring directly on the coil packs and doesnt skip a beat

my issue is with overheating and leaking oil, that and camshaft wear, maybe my engine is just worn out

Mate - they leak oil cause they are a rover Tdi's leak.

The overheat afflicts petrol and diesel.

The fact that is wearing out is one thing. Mine is strong with good compression at 285k. My brothers which had also done a lot of short runs and towing (a 94) did 340k before it started to feel tired and the oil light stayed on for a few seconds at start up - but it was still sweet and quiet and moved pretty well even with 2 tonns on the rear, but it was started to struggle up hill.

The V8 is economical to re-co to0... (and didnt suffer slipped liner issues like the D2 could - well pretty much not anyway).

cheers

Jazza - coil pack is pretty coil. I have seen you post that up before now I think about it. I like a well sorted dizzy though, especially where you can go into any old country town accross Oz and buy a new cap, rotor button, or HEI Module and where the RACQ breakdown guys actually carry the right module. When well set up the modules usually last for 100k, but being able to get them in a heartbeat by the side of the road is very cool.

Cheers